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If you want a travel rewards credit card that won't cost you hundreds of dollars per year, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is an affordable option. It has a strong lineup of perks, a substantial sign-up bonus, and no foreign transaction fee. To help you decide if it's worth the $95 annual fee, we've summed up its features and looked at how it stacks up against the competition.
Jump To
- 60,000 bonus points sign-up offer
- Bonus points on travel booked through the Chase Travel portal
- Bonus points on all other travel purchases
- Bonus points on dining
- Bonus points on online grocery purchases
- Bonus points on select streaming services
- $50 annual hotel credit
- 10% anniversary point bonus
- Diverse reward redemption options
- Extensive travel and purchase protections
- Compared to Chase cards with no annual fee
- Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card's annual fee worth it?
- Still have questions?
60,000 bonus points sign-up offer
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has one of the most impressive sign-up bonuses, which is its big draw. You'll start off with 60,000 bonus points if you spend $4,000 within 3 months of opening the account. Points are worth $0.0125 each on travel bookings through Chase Ultimate Rewards, making this bonus worth $750. It's also possible to get more value from your points if you transfer them to Chase's travel partners.
Bonus points on travel booked through the Chase Travel portal
Chase wants to reward you for booking travel through the Chase Travel portal. When you use your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to book travel through the portal, you'll earn 5 points per $1.
Bonus points on all other travel purchases
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns 2 points per $1 on all travel booked outside of the Chase Travel portal.
Bonus points on dining
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns 3 points per $1 on dining purchases, including takeout and delivery. This card previously earned at a lower rate, so this is a notable improvement. If you frequently use a credit card for dining expenses, your earnings can add up.
Bonus points on online grocery purchases
When using your card to pay for online grocery purchases, you'll earn 3 points per $1. Purchases made at Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs are excluded. If you frequently use online grocery services, this could be a nice way to rack up bonus points.
Bonus points on select streaming services
When using your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to pay for select streaming services, you'll earn 3 points per $1.
$50 annual hotel credit
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers a $50 annual credit valid on hotel stays booked through the Chase Travel portal. New cardmembers will begin earning toward the credit immediately, while existing cardholders will start earning after their next card anniversary.
10% anniversary point bonus
At every card anniversary, cardholders will earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year. For example, if you spend $2,000, you'd earn an additional 2,000 bonus points.
Choosing a credit card
Don't you wish you could take a peek inside a credit card expert's wallet sometimes? Just to see the cards they carry? Well, you can't look in anybody's wallet, but you can check out our experts' favorite credit cards. Get started here:
Diverse reward redemption options
One reason Chase credit cards are so popular with travelers is the Chase points they earn. When it comes to reward redemptions, these offer so much flexibility that they're some of the most valuable rewards points around.
You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to any of the credit card company's many partners. That's a long list of airline and hotel loyalty programs. It's possible to get over $0.03 per point with these transfers if you shop around and find a good award booking with a travel partner.
If that's too complicated or you can't find what you want, you can always just book using the Chase Travel portal. As we mentioned earlier, that will get you $0.0125 per point.
Extensive travel and purchase protections
Your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card also includes quite a few complimentary protections on eligible purchases. Here's a quick breakdown of its travel and purchase protections:
- Auto rental collision damage waiver: Decline the rental company's collision insurance, and your Chase card's primary coverage will provide actual cash value reimbursement for theft and collision damage.
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance: Coverage in case your trip is canceled or interrupted by sickness, severe weather, and other covered situations. You can get reimbursed up to a maximum of $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for your prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses.
- Purchase protection: Eligible new purchases are covered for 120 days against damage or theft, up to maximums of $500 per claim and $50,000 per account.
- Extended warranty coverage: Eligible U.S. warranties of three years or less are automatically extended by one year.
Compared to Chase cards with no annual fee
Here's how the benefits of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card stack up next to Chase cards with no annual fee.
As of Apr. 16, 2024
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| Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Chase Freedom Flex℠ |
Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card |
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Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair = Poor |
Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars.
5.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair = Poor |
Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair = Poor |
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Apply Now for Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
On Chase's Secure Website. |
Apply Now for Chase Freedom Flex℠
On Chase's Secure Website. |
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Credit Rating Requirement:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good/Excellent (670-850)
Good/Excellent (670-850) |
Credit Rating Requirement:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good/Excellent (670-850)
Good/Excellent (670-850) |
Credit Rating Requirement:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good/Excellent (670-850)
Good/Excellent (670-850) |
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Welcome Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠. 60,000 bonus points |
Welcome Offer: Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening! $200 bonus |
Welcome Offer: Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after spending $1,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening with the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card! Earn 30,000 Bonus Points |
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Rewards Program: Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more. 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases |
Rewards Program: 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. Enjoy new 5% categories each quarter! Plus, earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases. 5% cash back offer |
Rewards Program: Up to 14x points at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels and 2x points on other travel purchases, 1x points on all other eligible purchases. 1x - 14x points |
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Intro APR: N/A Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
Intro APR: 0% Intro APR on Purchases Purchases: 0% Intro APR on Purchases, 15 months Balance Transfers: 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers, 15 months |
Intro APR: N/A Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
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Regular APR: 21.49%-28.49% Variable |
Regular APR: 20.49%-29.24% Variable |
Regular APR: 21.49% - 28.49% Variable |
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Annual Fee: N/A $95 |
Annual Fee: N/A $0 |
Annual Fee: N/A $0 |
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Apply Now for Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
On Chase's Secure Website. |
Apply Now for Chase Freedom Flex℠
On Chase's Secure Website. |
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Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card's annual fee worth it?
It's certainly worth getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for the intro bonus alone. The bonus covers the annual fee many times over.
With premium rewards and several new earning categories with high earning rates, more than breaking even on the annual fee is an achievable goal for many cardholders, but we recommend you also look at other top credit cards. You might find that it's worth upgrading to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® since that card has quite a few additional perks.
Or perhaps there's another travel card that provides more value on a year-to-year basis. The smart approach is always to compare credit cards first to see which one is the right fit.
Click below to read our full Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card review, or head to our guide to compare other Chase cards: Best Chase Credit Cards
Still have questions?
Some other questions we've answered:
Our Credit Cards Expert
Lyle Daly is a personal finance writer who specializes in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. He writes for The Ascent and The Motley Fool, and his work has appeared in USA Today and Yahoo! Finance. He was born in California but currently lives as a digital nomad with a home base in Colombia.
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